City Times Staff

The 10th of 11 defendants in what’s been called a “massive” Portage Co. drug operation has been convicted in federal court.

DeWight Williams, 39, Milwaukee, was sentenced to 72 months in federal prison on April 4 for his part in leading a large drug ring involving dozens of individuals. Williams pleaded guilty on last December for conspiring with several others, including Hurley Jackson, 34, and Terrance Jackson, 31, also of Milwaukee, to distribute heroin in Portage, Waupaca, and Wood counties.

The cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy M. O’Shea.

The case originated in Portage Co. in May of 2014 when three local drug investigators began to notice overlapping suspects involved in different drug-related cases. Plover Police Det. Brian Noel, Stevens Point Detective Mike Schultz and Portage County Sheriff’s Investigator Tony Gischia — all members of the Central Wisconsin Drug Task Force — worked the case for about a year-and-a-half, eventually helping secure 11 convictions in what they referred to as a “massive” drug operation in the area.

The trio were awarded the “Investigation of the Year” for their work on Operation: Who’s the Boss, at the 2016 Wisconsin Narcotics Officers’ Conference, held in Green Bay last August.

The operation took more than $16,000 worth of hard drugs off local streets, according to investigators.

The last of the defendants, Hurley Jackson, is scheduled to be sentenced on May 16.

Others sentenced in the drug ring include:

• Charles D. Hall, 31 of Waupaca, sentenced to 156 months (13 years) in federal prison for distributing heroin, sentenced Aug. 31, 2016.
• Cody Thompson, 24 of New Hope, sentenced to 30 months for distributing heroin on Jan. 21, 2016
• Megan Pray Genett, 21 of Belmont, sentenced to 24 months for distributing heroin on Feb. 2, 2016
• Marguerite “Beth” Tompkins, 24 of Stevens Point, sentenced to 60 months for conspiring to distribute heroin on March 8, 2016
• Kristy Dietel, 35 of Stevens Point, sentenced to 36 months for conspiring to distribute heroin on March 22, 2016
• Tiffany A. Bell, 25 of Plover, sentenced to 138 months (11-and-a-half years) in federal prison for conspiring to distribute heroin on April 15, 2016
• Gregory D. Richardson, 26 of Plover, sentenced to 120 months for conspiring to distribute heroin on April 22, 2016
• Hannah J. Hovick, 24 of Marshfield, sentenced to 30 months for distributing heroin on April 30, 2016